Do you remember Tim Dillon?
Posted by Ashley Proud on November 29, 2008
Tim Dillon was one of my favourite imports to ever grace a NBL floor. I know that I seem to say that a fair bit, but this guy was the real deal and could flat out get it done. If you read my article on Brian Goorjian, you will know that I was a huge North Melbourne Giants fan who turned to the darkside when the Magic was formed. I loved the Giants and one of the main reasons was this guy. When I was a youngster, his brother Mike, played for the Dandenong Rangers in the SEABL (or whatever it was called then) and he held a clinic. Both Tim and Scott Fisher turned up and this was the highlight of my week for around 6 weeks.
A bit of background information – Tim only played two years in the NBL for the Giants. In those two years he averaged 31.08ppg, 10.47rpg, 2.36apg and 1.47spg. He shot 55% from the field, 34% from the 3 point line and a suprisingly low 69% from the Free Throw line. But for me it was more than his numbers. It was the way that he got his numbers. He was listed at 203cms and I remember in the 1988 season, both he and Scott Fisher were the starting 4 and 5 men for the Giants. In 1989, Ray Borner joined the Giants program and he was allowed to play more of his natural game which allowed him to step out to the perimeter sometimes. Prior to that, Tim attended the Northen Illinois Unversity and was drafted with pick 49 by Chicago in the 1984 NBA Draft (the same draft as Jordan and Hakeem) In this article, Adam Ballinger is compared to Tim Dillion which I think it a pretty fair comparison. I think that Tim could get it done more off the dribble than Ballinger but both have good size and good shooting touch.
I searched and searched Google for some images of him as a player, but I couldn’t find a single one. Don’t ask me what the above image has to do with him. I guess he was in the NBA draft but not in the lottery! In the latest edition of The OT with DJ Rod and JR, they discuss imports from the past and how they would have went in the modern game. I think that he would be tough as in the 2008-09 NBL season. In my opinion, Adam Ballinger is a very good import and in his prime, Tim Dillion was better.
Got to love the memories! It was sad that he only played two seasons in our league. I can’t remember the reasons why. I had a conversation with Bruce Palmer about this once but I just can’t put my finger on the reason that he was only here for a short time. So there you go! Hopefully others have just as fond memories of Tim Dillion as I do!
